Draining Gas from Cars - Page 3

Originally Posted by Focker

So after doing some research i found this.What do you think.Seems a little time consuming but seems to work good.But it is way over priced at 149.00 plus 6.95 for shipping.
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It's all good. It's whatever works best for you.

I provided a link for a vacuum can earlier in the thread. I've had one of those for about four years and it's the handiest thing ever.



Basically it vacuums whatever liquid (oil or gas) you want it to. It will suck a master cylinder or power steering pump reservoir dry in under a minute. You can use it for bleeding brake lines all by yourself. It will start a siphon on the gas tank (if you can get the line in)

It would be really useful for someone that had to drain their vehicles before the scrap yard would accept them.

I always cut the feed line to the motor after the fuel filter, attach a line I have made up with another fuel filter and pump it strait into my tank

how do you do that.Does it just suck it all out that way?

Most of the cars these days have an electric fuel pump either in the tank or mounted somewhere nearby before the fuel filter.

If you cut the line after the fuel filter and send power to the pump..... ?

( You probably can send power to the pump by turning the ignition key to the run position.)

See what he was saying ?

It's pretty clever to attach another hose and pump it directly into his own vehicle. Saves a lot of mess that way.

When you turn the key to the on position,
gas pump comes on to get fuel line to the correct pressure
if you have the line cut then it will never reach that pressure and SHOULD continue to run until you drain the tank

Originally Posted by JohnC4X4

When you turn the key to the on position,
gas pump comes on to get fuel line to the correct pressure
if you have the line cut then it will never reach that pressure and SHOULD continue to run until you drain the tank

There SHOULD be a safety system that prevents the fuel pump from working if the engine is not running. Lets say you get in an accident and the fuel line brakes, if the pump does not shut off you now you have fuel spraying causing a fire hazard.

I believe the safety switch is designed to sense an accident where the vehicle is either on it's side or upside down. Of course ... you never know what you'll run into with a junker but if the car is sitting level the safety shouldn't be a factor in the mix.

Next time you go to start your vehicle turn the ignition to the run position but not the crank position. If you listen carefully you might be able to hear the humm of the fuel pump coming on. Once the fuel line at the rail has come up to the correct pressure it will cut out.

Originally Posted by Scrappah

I believe the safety switch is designed to sense an accident where the vehicle is either on it's side or upside down. Of course ... you never know what you'll run into with a junker but if the car is sitting level the safety shouldn't be a factor in the mix.

Next time you go to start your vehicle turn the ignition to the run position but not the crank position. If you listen carefully you might be able to hear the humm of the fuel pump coming on. Once the fuel line at the rail has come up to the correct pressure it will cut out.

That is only to prime the fuel lines. The pump will stop unless the computer [and or some other method] can tell if the engine is running.

Originally Posted by Immulmen

That is only to prime the fuel lines. The pump will stop unless the computer [and or some other method] can tell if the engine is running.

That's interesting. See .... i thought that there was a pressure sensor somewhere up around the fuel rail. I think you need something like 60 psi or above for fuel injection.

Once the pressure sensor hits it's pre-set it shuts the fuel pump off. If it's below the pre-set then the pump should be energized. Maybe there's more to it though.

I know there's another sensor that won't open up fuel from the rail unless the sensor unless it detects that the engine is turning.

well the next one i get i will try to just jump the relay and see how that works

Originally Posted by Immulmen

There SHOULD be a safety system that prevents the fuel pump from working if the engine is not running. Lets say you get in an accident and the fuel line brakes, if the pump does not shut off you now you have fuel spraying causing a fire hazard.

There is. It's called an inertia switch, and it's basically a breaker on your fuel pump circuit. It's "tripped" by a hard impact or rollover. It's reset by pushing down the button that pops up when it's tripped. They're usually mounted inside the trunk on the side, or under the dash at the floor or on a kick panel. If you have a car that's been in an accident and won't start, that's sometimes why.

The yard I haul cars to wants them drained with a good sized hole, but they can still be in the car. They shred the cars, tanks and all. Propane tanks are totally forbidden, not even the little camping ones. Gas usually won't cause an explosion in the shredder, only a fire (which is bad enough). Unless it's quite a bit more gas than a holed tank would hold and was missed by staff. Propane tanks apparently will explode though. When cars come in, the loader operator unloading them flips them on the side to see if the tank is out or at least holed. If not, he'll punch a hole with a fork to drain it.

I usually drop my fuel tanks entirely and then drain them once they're out with a siphon pump. Late '80's Ford pickups had a frame mounted fuel pump (LH frame rail right below/behind the engine) that makes a great siphon pump, and should be cheap and easy to find for most scrappers. This way I don't have to deal with any spills, or contaminating any useable fuel. If it's a tank that's a pita to remove, I'll punch a hole if it's steel or drill it if it's plastic to drain it. I won't use a sawzall on a metal tank, too many sparks. If you don't think they spark, try using one in the dark and you'll see all the sparks coming off the motor and the blade. In my own personal experience, I've only seen or heard of one fuel tank fire caused that way, and it was to a scrapper I know who was using a sawzall on a steel Chev truck tank. Seeing the shriveled skin on his hands and arms just reinforces to me that I'm doing it right.

Originally Posted by zito

There is. It's called an inertia switch, and it's basically a breaker on your fuel pump circuit. It's "tripped" by a hard impact or rollover. It's reset by pushing down the button that pops up when it's tripped. They're usually mounted inside the trunk on the side, or under the dash at the floor or on a kick panel. If you have a car that's been in an accident and won't start, that's sometimes why.

The yard I haul cars to wants them drained with a good sized hole, but they can still be in the car. They shred the cars, tanks and all. Propane tanks are totally forbidden, not even the little camping ones. Gas usually won't cause an explosion in the shredder, only a fire (which is bad enough). Unless it's quite a bit more gas than a holed tank would hold and was missed by staff. Propane tanks apparently will explode though. When cars come in, the loader operator unloading them flips them on the side to see if the tank is out or at least holed. If not, he'll punch a hole with a fork to drain it.

I usually drop my fuel tanks entirely and then drain them once they're out with a siphon pump. Late '80's Ford pickups had a frame mounted fuel pump (LH frame rail right below/behind the engine) that makes a great siphon pump, and should be cheap and easy to find for most scrappers. This way I don't have to deal with any spills, or contaminating any useable fuel. If it's a tank that's a pita to remove, I'll punch a hole if it's steel or drill it if it's plastic to drain it. I won't use a sawzall on a metal tank, too many sparks. If you don't think they spark, try using one in the dark and you'll see all the sparks coming off the motor and the blade. In my own personal experience, I've only seen or heard of one fuel tank fire caused that way, and it was to a scrapper I know who was using a sawzall on a steel Chev truck tank. Seeing the shriveled skin on his hands and arms just reinforces to me that I'm doing it right.

I know about the inertia switch. What I am saying is I have not had a car that can run and you disconnect the fuel line and the pump will stay running with the key on without the engine running. So disconnect the gas line and turn the key on. The pump will turn on and go off if the engine is not running even if the inertia switch has not been tripped.

Originally Posted by shaun319

I always cut the feed line to the motor after the fuel filter, attach a line I have made up with another fuel filter and pump it strait into my tank

been a while since I have been on.

after attaching the line and putting it into my tank I put power to the relay and let the pump do all the work.

if you were to hook everything up and just turn the key you will only get a 2 second burst of fuel and thats it as like mentioned it is just the prime setting until the car is running

you could also power the pump by finding the wires that run directly to the pump and putting your own power and ground on them from a battery

really the only cars I have emptied that have a safety switch were fords and they have there safety switch either in the passenger side kick panel or the passenger side of the trunk/hatch, to deal with that you usually just have to ground one of the wires

Thanks Focker, You well done.